U.K. Is in Talks With Liberty House Over Tata Steel’s British Plants

A pedestrian passes residential houses against a backdrop of the steel works operated by Tata Steel Ltd. in Port Talbot, U.K. Apr. 1. Tata Steel, part of India's biggest conglomerate, said a slump in global prices has forced it to consider selling its U.K. business.
Photo:
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News

The U.K. government is in talks with metals firm Liberty House to take over much of Tata Steel Ltd.’s British operations and stave off factory closures that could spell the death of the steel industry here.

The fate of Britain’s steel plants has become a political test for Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who is facing calls for the government to nationalize the industry to save thousands of blue-collar jobs in Wales and elsewhere. Mr. Cameron is meeting with Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones on Tuesday to discuss the future of Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant, the biggest of the factories potentially up for sale.

“The government is doing everything it can to find a long-term, viable solution to save the Port Talbot steelworks,” Mr. Cameron said.

Liberty House’s founder and executive chairman, Sanjeev Gupta, said he is willing to buy the Port Talbot plant from Tata Steel but wants to know what kind of government support his commodities firm could get. He said the government needs to help with the plant’s pension-fund liabilities, its high energy costs and loss-making equipment before he would consider a takeover.

“They are engaging positively but [it is] still early days,” Mr. Gupta said in an interview Monday.